REP. JIM CANTWELL: Don't go it alone

Mental health disorders, usually depression or addiction, are linked to more than 90 percent of suicides, the 10th leading cause of death among Americans.

By Rep. Jim Cantwell

COMMENTARY

In any given year, one in four Americans will experience a diagnosable mental health disorder.

Precipitated by any number of factors, including family history, a traumatic event or the hardship of unemployment, mental illness can impact any one of us, sometimes with devastating consequences.

Mental health disorders, usually depression or addiction, are linked to more than 90 percent of suicides, the 10th leading cause of death among Americans.

Just over eight years ago, I lost one of my closest high school friends to suicide, someone who was at the height of his personal and professional success. The death of a loved one from suicide evokes extraordinary feelings of grief and unremitting questions about what we could have done to relieve our loved one of such pain.

As residents of the South Shore know too well, the consequences of suicide reverberate throughout a community. Fortunately, we also know how to face extraordinary challenges together.

Just a few weeks ago, more than 60 people from Marshfield and Scituate participated in a community forum on suicide prevention. Attendees included those who have lost loved ones to suicide, concerned citizens, students and numerous local leaders from elder services, faith, mental health, education and public safety. The meeting was a first step in creating a cross-community coalition to prevent suicide.

During the forum, we learned from Alan Holmlund, director of the Department of Public Health’s Suicide Prevention Program, that multiple strategies are available to prevent suicide including: training primary care health professionals about suicide; promoting screening in health care and school settings; and offering parenting education and coping skills training.

Tuesday, we had our second meeting where we learned about coalition building and set the groundwork to take a strategic suicide prevention approach.

The message is clear: prevention and promotion work, asking for help is OK, and there are places where you can turn when you, a loved one, or even a stranger are in need. There are steps we can take in our relationships, in our work lives, and in our community to prevent suicide.

It begins with a united community voice affirming that there is nothing shameful with experiencing mental illness and that asking for help is the right thing to do. Our united voice can combat the social stigma that leads those who suffer from mental illness to feel ashamed and disconnected from others, increasing their risk for suicide.

Our communities can also promote access to mental health services by raising community awareness, referring people in need to services and appropriately sharing information across agencies. We can also promote the resiliency and protective factors that prevent suicide by supporting community efforts that increase social connectedness, prepare our young people to cope with stressors, and improve substance abuse prevention. In a way, we can “vaccinate” individuals from suicide before a suicidal thought ever crosses their mind.

We know that joining together and partnering around a common vision will enable us to make great strides in preventing suicide. Our South Shore Suicide Prevention Coalition is already discussing steps to plan a training on Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR), a program designed to teach community members how to recognize the warning signs of suicide, how to offer hope to someone in crisis, and how to get help and save a life. We will hold our next coalition meeting at Marshfield Town Hall at 7 p.m. on May 21.

Anyone from anywhere can attend. Help exists for you or a loved one.

For those in crisis, no matter what problems you are dealing with, remember there are people to help you find a reason to keep living. By calling 800-273-TALK (8255) you’ll be connected to a skilled, trained counselor at a crisis center in your area, anytime.